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Almost 37,000 lives would be saved each year if everyone walked for two and a half hours a week, charities say.

Thousands of cases of cancer, heart disease and diabetes would also be prevented if people were as active as doctors recommend, according to the Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Calling physical activity a “wonder drug”, their report summarises evidence showing that active people cut their risk of dying early by between a fifth and a third. The death and illness toll of inactivity is comparable to that of smoking, they say.